![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
apocalypsehowmods) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
apocalypsehowcomm2023-05-16 08:27 am
- !event,
- !finale,
- !npc,
- bucky barnes (mcu),
- cortana (halo),
- delloso de la rue (d20 fey and flowers),
- edalyn clawthorne (owl house),
- elias bouchard (tma),
- john sheppard (stargate: atlantis),
- martin blackwood (tma),
- raine whispers (owl house),
- steve rogers (mcu),
- yelena belova (mcu),
- zz_caitlyn kiramman (arcane),
- zz_malcolm bright (prodigal son),
- zz_nina zenik (shadow and bone),
- zz_stephanie brown (dc comics),
- zz_tim drake (dc comics)
Event - Dogged
The message goes out to everyone on ADI's network. It seems to be something captured live. It's Pam Ruan, head of HR who holds a prosthetic finger up to her lips before whispering, "Everyone's pushing for transparency right now, right? Figuring out where threats are coming from and sharing. I think that should come at all levels. Let's see what Nia's talking about with Mr. Zyrian Steel, hmm?"
The camera flips around as Pam clearly creeps closer to an office door. There are muffled voices, and Pam sets the phone face up before using one hand to shove the thing under the door. The video shows a sliding picture of the office's bland ceiling for a moment before coming to a stop. The voices become much clearer.
"-down in Wolf Trap," a masculine voice is saying. Presumably, Zyrian Steel. "There's just no need for that."
"Zyrian, this ain't a negotiation." Nia Lehrer's voice is familiar to most people working at ADI at this point. They've likely heard her speak in some pre-recorded training videos at the bare minimum. Nia's tone is no nonsense and clearly on the edge of snapping in frustration. "You're not hiring us. I'm sending my people down to Wolf Trap next month. We've got evidence of those signalhead things being on the march, one down that way, your kick off for New Horizons in the park, and evidence out of there about the Lullaby Girl from some of my people."
There is silence.
"You remember her? Ava? Or Amber, it seems like. She's the one you gave us those Lucidio masks to help train our people against. Frankly, I'd be surprised if you don't remember her, Mr. S." Another drawn out pause. "You ain't been straight with me for a long time. You ain't been straight with ADI since Tawnya was Warden. You tell me you need us in Buffalo, payback for helping in Wolf Pen and Cortana and the mobile med units, and not only do half the staff come back with crab claws and whiskers, but I find out you're using us for business politics." There's venom in her tone. "Or were you just going to stay quiet about Etcher's enterprises competing with your own software companies? ADI is not your personal attack dog. You are our client. And I thought my friend. But I'm about 30 seconds away from firing you from both."
Further silence, then a heavy sigh. "And I was going to offer to send you and your staff on such a nice retreat." There's the sound of a chair being pushed back. "Warden, I think you misunderstand the nature of our relationship. You are the dogs. I am the master. I hold your leash. Or have you forgotten just how much technology I've donated to ADI over the years, how many of your systems run on things I built? We've had a mutually beneficial relationship up until now- Well… you and I have. Tawnya got to be a problem before the end, too. But I made sure that was taken care of."
"You self-aggrandizing son of a-"
"You're a much more practical woman than she ever was, even with those shiny ideals you hold so dear. You'll compromise for the greater good, to protect what's yours. Such a good Warden, looking out for her charges."
"What are you talking about? And get your hands the hell off my desk."
"Haven't you ever wondered about the title? Warden. Odd name for a leader of any organization, even one like yours. But maybe not so odd when you consider your more eldritch masters." A scoff. "The Hunt always does pick out the most oblivious avatars, doesn't it? What does a Warden do?" A beat. "She controls the monsters, Nia. Sniffs them out and contains them. And she goes after the poachers coming after her prey. Tell me, have you ever noticed how you're always picking up on threats far afield with uncanny precision. It's been getting stronger, hasn't it? Tawnya was the same way. As was her predecessor, I imagine."
"That's not- I wouldn't ever…"
"Wouldn't you, though? Every time you sent your own dogs after a threat, reveled in it, you were being such a good Warden, instilling terror in the hearts of your enemies, ADI's enemies. So many cults know who and what you are and they fear it. Fear the Warden of ADI, famed avatar of the Hunt. Even now, I know you've compromised yourself. Have you considered what that's done to you? You let that Visionary kid stay alive. I rather think that might have been the start of your slide, hmm? Making exceptions, just this once.
"Now," he continues, voice growing louder and footsteps starting toward the phone, "I realize this is a lot to take in, to think about. Why don't you do that self-reflection while I attend to other matters? You are doing good work, puppy. I need a dependable pet to take care of all those nasty pests who keep trying rituals. But no need to worry about the New Horizons launch, really. I'll just-" Zyrian pauses and everyone will have a view of a middle-aged caucasian man with dark, slightly graying hair and a beard. He's wearing khakis and a Hawaiian shirt, and he's looking down at Pam's phone.
"Well… fuck." He stomps a heeled shoe on it and the transmission ends abruptly.
no subject
As they scrolled through and read words like owlbeast and in my apartment a little lump rose in their throat, and they couldn't help but worry about Rue and Eda. They replied, don't even bother getting into better clothes that aren't the shorts and a t-shirt before they grabbed their violin, ran off through the ADI, and to Rue's apartment.
They don't bother knocking, and instead let themself in.
"Oh Titan." Raine's attention was squarely on the Owlbeast. Their body was tense, and their eyes were wide.
"I've never actually seen her like this before. I've seen the Owlbeast before on a scroll but not..in person."
Raine glanced apologetically at Rue.
"I don't know exactly what to do, but, there's a few things I can try."
no subject
The owlbeast does, in fact, seem content for the moment, somewhere comfortable and far away from the noise. It doesn't fully let its guard down or close its eyes, but it stays curled up on the couch and only idly watches Rue.
The moment Raine opens the door, however, its ears prick up and its head turns instantly.
Raine is... to be perfectly frank, it's not sure how it feels about about Raine. They're Eda's mate, which means a certain amount of positivity has bled over by this point. On the other hand, they're a person who has long been associated with not only a lot of stress, but also with Eda making a point of keeping any sign of the owlbeast away from them.
Which has changed, recently, of course. And they've certainly gotten used to the harpy version of Eda.
All that to say: while there's a level of nuance to the situation that really isn't the owlbeast's department, things with Raine feel complicated.
The feathers on its back bristle up slightly as it gets up from the couch to approach and circle the bard, sniffing at them. After a bit of that it sits up on its haunches--something that makes it menacingly tall, whether or not that's the intended effect--and leans in to sniff more.
no subject
And Rue could use easy right about now.
But Raine busts in and the owlbeast bristles up, moving to circle the newcomer. Rue follows to rest a paw at it's back.
"Please, I'm certain anything you try would be more successful than my idea of simply sitting around until she returned back to normal."
no subject
“Well, I’m going to let.. it finish first. But I thought maybe if I played my violin, Eda would..come back?”
They’re still honestly not positive how everything works. But a certain amount of confidence is surely needed in this situation.
“I just. Need to let the Owlbeast know I’m not a threat first. I think.”
They frowned, a little less scared of the being smelled and a little more lost in the logistics of Eda’s curse.
“Or would it—” They address the Owlbeast. “ —Do you already know who I am?”
no subject
The Owlbeast sits down again, finally, when Rue puts a hand on it. If Raine had run, or gotten aggressive, things would have gone a lot worse. As it is, staying calm seems to have helped.
Although it bristles again, a little, at the comment about Eda coming back. She will, sooner or later, that's how it works. But it so rarely gets to be in charge, even if her harpy form is... less unpleasant than being suppressed entirely.
But its ears prick up when it's spoken to instead of about. It looks at Raine for a moment before giving a nod. For better or worse, it's a fairly clear yes. They may not have met directly, but it knows who Raine is.
no subject
Though Rue may be delicately dancing around the fact that the owlbeast may less recognize Rue and more recognize what Rue is.
"Friend -" Rue inclines their head towards the beast, running their paw along it's back. "Would you enjoy a brief song? Raine would like to play for you."
no subject
"Ohhh."
Raine was quiet, perhaps slightly lost in the implications of what that meant- the ups and downs of their relationship with Eda had certainly been given an even newer perspective than before. Literally.
Luckily, Rue pulled them out of it. They looked between Rue and The Owlbeast, and tried to muster up a more convincing smile.
"Music! Right," they fumbled with their violin. "Why don't.."
Raine peered past the Owlbeast, back to Rue's living room.
"Why don't we go sit down, and I can play for you there?"
no subject
The owlbeast's feathers smooth down again, for the most part, as Rue pets it, but it watches Raine's reaction. Whatever it makes of it, of course, it has no way to voice even had it wanted to.
There's a long moment where it glances between the two of them before, finally, giving another curt nod.
It does like music. Sometimes, at least. It liked when the purple-eyed woman sang to it; perhaps that was partly because it had been something that was, in fact, meant for it and not just Eda. And perhaps partly because Katrina made sense, in general. But the song was nice. It likes when Eda plays, too.
It makes a soft noise between a grunt and a chirp before going back to settle on—and take up most of—the couch again.
no subject
"Please, Raine, make yourself comfortable however you can. My home is your home. However you need to sit or stand to play, you must do what feels right."
no subject
"Uhh, well I guess I could just.. Play there." Raine adjusted their violin, and tucked it under their chin.
They tried to think of a song that wouldn't upset the Owlbeast, but also wouldn't bore it, either. They'd thought about playing the song Eda wrote them, but it seemed like anything Eda-related was a potential for trouble. Raine could do parade music, but they both might find it boring.
They settled on a song from RATS- the same song they'd played for Eda a few weeks prior. The Bard awkwardly shuffled in front of their audience, and with a wry smile, asked:
"Ready?"
no subject
The owlbeast looks at Rue for a moment, and sniffs their arm, but doesn't object. It still feels a painful degree of nostalgia, even if something about the owlbear isn't right.
After that its eyes flicked back to Raine, watching their movements with a stil-wary curiosity. It gives another little nod, tilting its head to the side as it waits.
no subject
But Rue is happy to simply sit back and let Raine take centerstage for this, there is little else the owlbear themself has to contribute to performance except to hope that it works in restoring their friend.
no subject
Still, they pressed on, a soft shimmer of light overtook the room as they played the song from RATS (it's basically just Moments of Happiness), eyes closed as they made playing look quite effortless- other than the mildly nervous look on their face.
When it comes to a close Raine opened their eyes halfway, vision primarily focused on the Owlbeast's reaction.
no subject
The music does, in fact, prove fairly effective on two separate fronts. While it isn't a song it has any specific associations of its own with yet, the owlbeast does find it calming, and more of the tension appears to drain out of the way it holds itself.
Eda, meanwhile, is familiar with the song, both recently and from a good many years ago. The memories attached to it are mixed, given how Rats went, but they're certainly strong. Something which helps at the moment, making her stir and try to focus.
The owlbeast lets its eyes half close during the song, but it appears alert again as Raine looks at it.
It also appears... conflicted. Whether this is internal conflict or simply the fact it's rather tired of being delegated to the back of Eda's mind isn't clear from the outside. Still, after a long moment it huffs out a sigh and and closes its eyes.
When they open again, they look like Eda's, and she blinks disorientedly a couple of times.
no subject
"I think it must be working. Perhaps just a bit more."
no subject
"Eda..?" Their voice was soft as they stepped closer. They lowered their violin, and a part of Raine really hoped they weren't about to get a very displeased reply from the Owlbeast.
Still, the bard crouched down, trying to seem a little less threatening if it was still the Owlbeast.
"Are you alright?"
no subject
"I..." Eda blinks again, and closes her eyes briefly, before shaking her head. She takes a deep breath and opens them again, before looking down at her--well, paws apparently.
"Dammit," she mutters, suddenly looking incredibly awkward. While no one seems to be hurt, and she'd had a certain degree of awareness, it's still hard not to worry based on past experiences. And it's still disorienting, especially now that she isn't used to it happening quite this involuntarily these days.
Not to mention just, well, awkward.
"What happened?" She remembers noise, pain, the owlbeast panicking—but she has no idea what caused it.
no subject
"Oh Eda, I hardly know the full of it. Some strange and terrible noise shrieked out around both of us, and before we could even locate the source of it, you had already transformed. I did not know what to do, but thankfully, Raine was able to help in returning you to yourself."